


Old friends, new enemies

by JadeKatherine



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-24 16:02:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20361241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeKatherine/pseuds/JadeKatherine
Summary: What will Michael do when she sees a familiar face in a crowd of enemies? The discovery answers a distress call that was never meant to have been sent, and Saru becomes curious to the strange space station's activities.





	1. Red alert

She crawled through the half open doorway, wary of the rest of the door falling down at any moment. The thick door hung gently as she slid out into the empty hallway, greeted by harsh red lights flickering above her.

Jumping up quickly she scoped out the area before making a move; a dead end to the left and an open crossroad to her right. There was complete silence, the only noise being her own hampered breathing. Her eyes darted across the sickly white walls and spotted the dimly lit control panel, flicking desperately.

She moved away from the door and to the other side of the corridor, towards the panel. Silver doors lined the whole corridor but there was no light behind the small square windows, and they had all managed not to break, unlike hers. 

The ceiling creaked ominously above her and sparks flew, and although she ignored the danger around her, Michael's mind couldn't help but race. Who the hell would dare to fire on the station?

Michael reached the panel and she tapped hastily, finding a map of the compound. She located ops and engineering which were both equal distances from her, ops two floors up and engineering two floors down. A small red light flashed on the screen at the turbolift.

"Shit."


	2. Shaking hands

"Dr Cameron, this is Commander Saru of the USS Discovery." Saru stood tall in front of the Captain's chair, his arms crossed behind his back and his head held high.

"Ah yes, the famous Discovery. Welcome to Nel Al'Far, our humble science station. What can we help you with?" The man on the screen wore an immaculately clean white jumpsuit that was skin-tight, like a wetsuit made of fabric with the silicon-like boots combined.

Saru's arms uncrossed and he moved forward slightly. "We are responding to your distress call, Doctor."

The doctor cut in once again, "We didn't send out any distress call." The man's pale face seemed to get even paler, turning almost sheet white. A subtle realisation hit the man as his gazed turned away for a moment, eyeing something off screen. He returned his beady look to Saru and continued, "One of our machines malfunctioned a few days ago, we haven't had the time or crew to fix it. It could be possible that it has been sending out signals like that of a distress call." The man crossed his arms and his eye twitched, evidently impatient. "I assure you, Commander Saru, our station is functioning perfectly."

"Other than that machine, of course." Saru gestured with his hand and inched closer still, never breaking eye contact with the uncomfortable man on screen. The man just clenched his jaw as Saru started again, "If you require assistance we can send down a team to help."

The Doctor considered Saru's offer and he unfolded his arms, painting his face with the same fake friendliness as he had done when the conversation began. "I shall take you up on that offer. I'll send you over the coordinates and my men will meet you there at eleven hundred hours. If that is acceptable with you Commander."

Saru nodded, "We will meet you then."

The screen flicked off immediately after and a collective breath of relief flooded the bridge. "Y-you're going down there, Commander?" Tilly asked from her station.

Saru stepped down slightly, "Even without my ganglia," he touched the back of his neck slightly, "I could tell something was amiss on that station. I want to figure out what that was."

"Commander, that signal is way too inconsistent to just be a malfunction, it almost seems desperate." Owo relayed, turning around in her chair to face Saru.

"Something is wrong down there. Lieutenant Owosekun, you shall join the boarding team. Lieutenant Detmer, you have the conn."

... 

"Why the hell did you invite them down here? Do you want to expose everything? Get everyone thrown in a penal colony?!" The short and chubby man with an unkempt beard and spiky greying hair was Doctor Redman, Doctor Cameron's right hand man who had just stepped away from his station. Although Doctor Cameron was the Director and boss of the entire space station, Doctor Redman did all of the grunt work, like working with his subordinates where Cameron barely spoke to anyone he didn't have too. Speaking to Starfleet was Cameron's job, but he wasn't going to meet them when they came.

Cameron stood up from his seat in the middle of Operations and met Redman's crazed glare, speaking slowly, "No one is going anywhere. You and I both know that that console has been sabotaged and our team has no idea how to fix it. If we don't get it back online, every over part of the station will fall apart like dominoes." The man crossed his arms and stood tall over the small man in front of him. "If I didn't let the Disocovery's team come down, what do you think would have happened if it got back to Starfleet that one of their science stations was behaving strangely?" Redman looked away from Doctor Cameron's piercing eyes. It was like Doctor Cameron's neck had stretched to get in Redman's face, like a hawk whose feathers had become ruffled whilst staring down his prey. "We can't have Starfleet launching an investigation and uncovering everything, so this way we keep Starfleet happy by letting them help us, and our problem is solved without exposure. It's a win-win situation, Redman." 

Cameron laughed at the quivering man before him. "I'll get a couple Lieutenants from engineering to join me when they beam over, Doctor Cameron."

The man barely made eye contact with Cameron, who nodded in acceptance. "Good." 

Doctor Redman hurried away as fast as he could, a cold sweat forming on his back as he felt Cameron's glare linger on him. The door opened for him quickly and only when it shut could Redman breathe, letting out the pained breath he'd been holding.

"Arrogant-" He began under his whispered breath, before he saw a tall woman approaching him. 

"Doctor Redman, just the person I was coming to see. I have promising updates on the latest round of experiments; casualty rate has fallen to twenty percent." The woman beamed and yet she was one of the most serious people Redman had ever met. He had realised long ago that she took great satisfaction from her work, and whether it was ethical or not she was perfect for the job.

The woman smiled eagerly, handing a padd over to Redman who gave it a brief look. "Excellent work, Doctor Young. I'll let Doctor Cameron know after I've dealt with our visitors." 

Redman tucked the padd under his arm and began to walk away when Young started, a hint of fear underlying her shaky voice. "Visitors?"

Redman shook his head, knowing just what was running through her mind. "Make sure you keep open discussions about the experiments quiet for a little while, we can't have Starfleet catching on to anything."

He walked away, down the glistening white halls. When he was out of earshot, Young simply whimpered, "Starfleet?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 should be up soon, I've got plans for how I want this all to turn out!


	3. Lies and games

Michael jumped up onto the transporter platform in her navy blue uniform and a phaser strapped to her side. In her hands was a small toolkit, containing little bits and bobs she needed for the mission. Although, she couldn't really call it a 'mission'. Saru had barely briefed her on the situation before they had to leave and what she had heard seemed straightforward; a science station in need of assistance. There was nothing strange enough to warrant an investigation, as Saru had called it, other than Doctor Cameron's unusual behaviour.

It seemed as if the whole team was thinking the same thing, as Tilly, who Michael was surprised to see on the transporter pad, tapped her on the shoulder and whispered "What is it exactly this science station does, again?"

"They're an independent research facility specialising in genetic illnesses across a variety of species." Michael recited. "It's common for people who have experienced radiation sickness or chemical injuries to be sent to a station like this, so it's important for them to have all their 'machines'," she said slowly, "in top condition." 

Tilly only looked more confused as she continued. "But why are we getting involved if they're an independent facility?" 

Michael turned around to face her properly. "The station liaisons with Starfleet so that if ever the need arises, there's a place to send sick and injured crew. In return, Starfleet sends them resources, and like now, help." 

Tilly nodded her head in understanding, her mind whirring away. When Michael turned back around, Saru had entered the transporter room and within seconds he said: "Energise." 

Within moments the golden circles had faded. A short, crazy haired man stood in front of them, eyeing them quizzically.

The bearded man held out his hand to Michael who shook it, and then briefly considered offering his hand to Saru, who had folded his hands behind his back. The man held his hand awkwardly in the air for a moment before readjusting the padd under his arm. "I'm Doctor Redman. I'm here to show you the way to ops."

"Very well." Saru started. "Was Doctor Cameron busy?"

The man shifted slightly. "He doesn't really deal with this sort of stuff." Redman nodded anxiously and began to move, gesturing the away team to follow.

They hurried their way down the corridor, the doctor eagerly leading the way. What seemed like a hundred little steps for this man was one long stride for Saru. They wound their way through the sickly white corridors, the brightness of the walls too difficult to even look at for too long.

"We don't really get many visitors." Redman said sheepishly as they continued.

Saru had been counting the personnel he'd seen on their walk, and although there were quite a few people, he'd noticed something peculiar. "Michael." He half-whispered, enough for Redman not to hear. "This station conducts research on a variety of lifeforms, correct?" 

Michael looked up at him curiously, "Yes, commander."

"Then why," he said quietly as another crewmember walked past, "is everyone here human."

Michael hadn't noticed until he told her, and although some species were more difficult to differentiate from humans, everybody here was strikingly so. She looked up and down the corridor, and sure enough, everybody she saw was human.

"Here we are." Redman spoke as they made their way through the door into ops. Redman walked them over to the blank console and gave them a brief rundown of what it did. "It's the main connective console of all our facilities on board, even the sonic showers have been on the fritz because of this thing." He tapped the console and continued. "Although, I doubt it will need four people to fix."

Redman gestured towards the team consisting of Saru, Michael, Tilly and Owosekun, but unlike the man assumes only two of them will be working on the console. Saru is there to subtly interrogate - without giving away that's it's an interrogation - Doctor Cameron, who to his surprise had hidden away. Michael was there to investigate the rest of the station, and as Doctor Redman had said, the rest of the station was failing because of the damaged console, so she had the perfect cover. 

"Where is Doctor Cameron, at the moment? I'd like to speak with him." Saru almost doubled the height of the Doctor, and yet he could still hear him gulp at the question.

Redman managed to beat the almost impossible task of making his hair look anymore crazy when he ran his hand through it. "Anything that is said to me is relayed to Doctor Cameron."

Saru looked around operations and towards the glass doors to the right, opening up into what he could see was a small room. "Is that Doctor Cameron's office?" He pointed.

Redman's face dropped. "No. It's uh, it's mine." He obviously lied.

Saru started striding towards it. "Then it is alright for us to talk more privately in there, then." 

Redman could barely catch up to the tall man who seemed to stride across the whole of ops with two large strokes, too quick for Redman to stop him.

The doors to the office swung open, and as Saru suspected, Doctor Cameron was sitting at the desk.

...

Slipping out of operations wasn't going to be easy, it seemed like everyone was watching them work. Michael had managed to set up an external console that was able to access everything the original control panel did. Except, it needed an access code.

Owosekun had taken over trying to crack the code, secretly of course, and without direct permission from Saru who was still talking to the Director after his grand entrance. Michael was using a separate console all together, trying to find any evidence of other areas that may have been affected. Tilly had taken off the front panel of the work station and had managed to fit herself under it, whacking things with various tools.

Michael searched through the database and had gone from the highest deck down to one below operations, but any further than that was restricted and needed that damn access code. She couldn't investigate the station if she didn't know where to start.

"Owosekun, do you have anything?" Michael asked after another round of clanging from Tilly. 

"Not yet, this thing is almost impenetrable." Owosekun whispered, not even lifting her eyes from the console.

"Almost." Michael reassured, with a quick smile. She turned back to her work, trying to find anything without the access code. She tapped away, going through every file that she could find, but coming up empty. Maybe there was nothing so suspicious about this station after all.

Another loud crash came from where Tilly was working, but when she came out from under the station her eyes were gleaming. "I think I got it working," she said hastily, "at least temporarily."

Tilly tapped on the screen and it lit up dimly, giving it's best effort. "How'd you do it?" Michael whispered, not wanting to give away the success.

"I gave up on the actual console and started looking for backup protocols, and since they can only normally be activated by this machine, and this console hasn't been working, they haven't been corrupted. It also means," a smile widened across her face, "that the backup will have bypassed the access code because it normally can't be activated unless you've already entered it."

Owosekun jumped up from her seat and high-fived Tilly. After a moment of brief excitement, the trio settled and tried to brush off Tilly's achievement, not wanting to give anything away. A couple members of the crew gave them odd looks, but didn't intervene.

"It won't be long though before this backup subroutine is also corrupted, so Michael you have to act fast." Tilly whispered, trying to be inconspicuous but failing completely.

Michael immediately began searching through the now complete database, and what she found she couldn't make sense of.

'Experiment 241: M Andorian x F Vulcan - DECEASED.'

'Experiment 318: M Klingon/Vulcan x F Orion - DECEASED.'

'Experiment 422... 553... 632...'

The last evidence of any 'experiment' that Michael could find was experiment 746, a presumably male Klingon and a Female Romulan, and a success.

The Klingon's and the Romulan's aren't a part of the federation, so they shouldn't be getting treatment here at all or be involved in these 'experiments'. 

Michael looked closer and the leading scientist for all of these 'experiments' is a Doctor Young. Her office was on one of the lower decks, presumably near where these experiments were taking place. If anything suspicious was going on in this station, she'd be the one to know.

"Tilly you're brilliant." Michael said before closing down the tabs. 

The whole station was like a large semi-sphere with protruding pylons on the flat side. Operations was on deck 2, above it was one floor with the remaining 5 floors below ops, including engineering. Doctor Young's office was on deck 4 and according to the map, not hard to get too. Michael just need to find a way out of ops and to a turbolift.

Then, an opportunity arose. Doctor Redman came scrambling out of Doctor Cameron's office, his eyes bloodshot and seemingly staring into oblivion. He practically run out of operations, and so, Michael took her chance, giving a final wink to Tilly and Owosekun as she ran after him.

"Doctor Redman!" She yelled quietly, running after the man but not actually wanting to get his attention.

His mind was evidently elsewhere as he continued to hastily scurry away, a padd held firmly in his arms. If Michael had the time, she would have asked him what was wrong, but time was precious and now that the door to operations closed behind her, she had to leave for deck 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahoo another chapter completed! I hope you enjoyed, the next one should be up soon.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress, but I literally dreamt of the story line and so I'm writing it down before I lose inspiration. I hope you like it!!


End file.
